Does anyone know the first appearance or first mention of the entity One-Above-All (the master of the Living Tribunal, not the Celestial leader of the same name), or any actual appearances for that matter? I am looking for any reference to the character specifically named One-Above-All, not other omnipotent entities who that are similar (such as the Judeo-Christian God).

wolframbane wrote:Does anyone know the first appearance or first mention of the entity One-Above-All (the master of the Living Tribunal, not the Celestial leader of the same name), or any actual appearances for that matter? I am looking for any reference to the character specifically named One-Above-All, not other omnipotent entities who that are similar (such as the Judeo-Christian God).

Be careful what you ask for. I've been curious about this same subject for some time so last year I gathered the following references. Enjoy!

0. The Living Tribunal's unknown superior has never actually appeared. He/She/It/They is/are generally assumed to be the "God" whom Eternity described as the being who "rules all realities!" way back in Doctor Strange Vol. 1 #13 (April, 1972).

1. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 (February, 1992) - Adam Warlock describes the Living Tribunal as "a strange entity the others claim is a representative of a power above Eternity and myself." The Living Tribunal later states "I represent forces that dwarf even (Warlock's) might...My task is to judge this reality’s most pressing cosmic issues. My authority comes from on high." Warlock later has to remind Eternity that the Living Tribunal "represents one who you currently acknowledge as a superior."

2. Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 (March, 1992) – Moondragon says to Warlock, "I’d heard you’d taken over the job of the Supreme Being of this reality."

3. Infinity War #2 (July, 1992) - The Infinity Well states that "Mighty and jealous Eternity had (Warlock) called before the Living Tribunal, the representative of THE ONE who is above all."

4. Infinity War #3 (August, 1992) - The Magus describes the Living Tribunal as "the representative of One whose might exceeds even Eternity’s."

5. Infinity War #6 (November, 1992) - Eternity refers to "the power that the Living Tribunal represents."

6. Warlock Chronicles #2 (August, 1993) - Master Order mentions "the Supreme Will" and Warlock refers to the Living Tribunal as "the servant of the One who is above even gods."

7. Guardians of the Galaxy #48 (May, 1994) – On page 14, when the joined Starhawks passed through the Scar of Eternity and emerged in "that realm removed from all things real or imagined", Eternity exclaimed, "By the One Above All! An entity emerges from within!"

8. Guardians of the Galaxy #49 (June, 1994) – On page 22, while in the Realm of the Cosmic Beings, after having duplicated the power displays he had observed thus far, the Protege (having transformed himself into a giant three-faced head) says, "On your knees, insects! Supplicate yourself before the almighty Protege! For I am now THE ONE ABOVE ALL!"

9. Guardians of the Galaxy #50 (July, 1994) - On page 10, Protege says, "The new One-Above-All has spoken! This realm of cosmic beings and the multiverse it encompasses now belongs to me!" The Living Tribunal replies, "End this blasphemous display at once, lest you lose what little remains of your immortal soul, child!"
Later, on page 30, The Living Tribunal states, "The verdict is unanimous! Equity, Revenge and Necessity all agree! Make your peace! May The-One-Above-All forgive you! Your actions and intentions were inexcusable!" Protege replies, "No! I want to be The-One-Above-All! The power is meant to be mine! All mine!"

10. Marvel Universe: The End #5 (July, 2003) - Thanos states that "There never had been any All-Father, celestial Supreme Will or Almighty Self." He later admits that he had been wrong and, when talking to Eternity, describes the Almighty as "Your Lord and Master."

There used to be a Wikipedia page for The One-Above-All that claimed that that was the "real" name of the being who created the Marvel Multiverse. However, it also stated that the GotG storyline in which the Living Tribunal's superior was called The One-Above-All had since been retconned, implying that that designation for the Creator was no longer valid. That Wikipedia page was later removed and it never identified who supposedly retconned that storyline.

I should mention that the Marvel Comics Database (like the now-gone Wikipedia page) states that the Jack Kirby-resembling "God" whom the Fantastic Four met when they visited Heaven and the God (not named as such in the story) who appeared as an elderly homeless man to encourage Peter Parker to keep faith when Aunt May was near death were both actually The One-Above-All. Personally, I doubt this but it hasn't been officially contradicted yet.

By the way, I asked similar questions in a topic I started on this Chat board back in July of 2009.

Don Campbell

Last edited by DonCampbell on Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.